Episode 178: The Adventure of the Peculiar Protocols

“this peculiar incident” [SIGN]  He was almost single-handedly responsible for the revival of interest of Sherlock Holmes in the 1970s with The Seven Percent Solution. Now, 45 years after his first novel about Sherlock Holmes, Nicholas Meyer, BSI ("A Fine Morocco Case") returns with The Adventure of the Peculiar Protocols. The case takes us to January of 1905, when Holmes and Watson are summoned by Mycroft to undertake a clandestine investigation. A British Secret Service agent was found floating in the Thames with a manuscript smuggled into England that cost her life. The pages are supposedly the minutes of the meeting of a secret group intent on taking over the world: The Protocols of the Elders of Zion. Holmes and Watson are sent to determine whether it's a hoax, what the perpetrators are trying to accomplish, and why they want to keep their work out of the hands of the Secret Service. What's different this time around, some 19 years after his previous Holmes novel? Where did he get his inspiration? We talk to Nick about these things, plus his view of storytelling. To him, it has to be in service of something larger than a gimmick, and paraphrasing Victor Hugo, he said, "There's nothing so irresistible as an idea whose time has come." Plus, be sure to tune in for the latest Canonical Couplet to see if you won. We have another opportunity for you to win a prize in the latest round. Information on sponsors, links, and notes available below. Please do consider becoming a Patron of the Arts. Your support helps us to ensure we can keep doing what we do, covering file hosting costs, production, and this year, transcription services. SponsorsWe're proud to feature Wessex Press as our lead sponsor. They've been with us for nearly the entire run. Please visit their site and let them know you found them via I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere. We have room for more than one sponsor. If you're interested in advertising with us, you can find more information here. Let's chat! Download [Save As] | File size 32.3 MB, 1:10:37 LinksThis episode: ihose.co/ihose178The Adventure of the Peculiar Protocols (Amazon hardcover)The Adventure of the Peculiar Protocols (Audible)Nicholas Meyer (Wikipedia)@NicholasMQ (Twitter)The Seven Percent SolutionThe West End HorrorThe Canary TrainerHolmes and Tevye: Fiddlers on the Roof - Nicholas Meyer and Joel Grey together at the 92nd Street YPrevious episodes mentioned on this show:Episode 85: Nicholas MeyerTrifles Episode 97: Sherlock Holmes and Children Many more links, articles and images are available in our Flipboard magazine at ihose.co/flipsherlock as well as through our accounts on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Please subscribe on the podcast provider of your choosing:Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, RadioPublic, Soundcloud, Stitcher, iHeartRadio or Spreaker — or perhaps another we haven't listed here — and be kind enough to leave a rating and review for the show. And please tell a friend about us, in any fashion you feel comfortable. Your thoughts on the show? Leave a comment below, send us an email (comment AT ihearofsherlock DOT com), call us at (774) 221-READ (7323). TranscriptThanks to the help of generous listeners like you, we've reached our goal of $100 per episode level on Patreon! That means we'll have the transcript available for this episode soon. Watch this space. amzn_assoc_tracking_id = "scottmonty-20"; amzn_assoc_ad_mode = "manual"; amzn_assoc_ad_type = "smart"; amzn_assoc_marketplace = "amazon"; amzn_assoc_region = "US"; amzn_assoc_design = "enhanced_links"; amzn_assoc_asins = "1250228956"; amzn_assoc_placement = "adunit"; amzn_assoc_linkid = "71dfc2e5d9e8fb2dba5d4a63cf212458"; --